During the first student senate meeting of the fall semester two new freshman senators, Senator Ann De Jesus (‘28) and Senator Ashish Gupta (‘28) were sworn in. A new senator at large was also sworn in, Senator Daniel Ohr (‘28). There are noticeably two vacancies for senior senators as well.
Along with these new additions to the student senate, many different issues were brought up during the meeting with concerns to student life on campus. A big focal point was the lack of third spaces on campus. This has been a primary concern for commuters, as there are various repairs needed to restore the Commuter Lounge after having flood damage from various storms that occurred before the start of the semester.
In response to how this is being handled, Senator Kamila Polanco (‘27) stated, “They are talking to the insurance… to the contractors to get the work done. It may take several weeks.” As of now, there is no definite timeline for when the Commuter Lounge will reopen.
Another big concern across campus surrounds the presence of mold in dorms like Riker, Baldwin and Haselton. The Proxy for the Health and Accessibility Committee Aidan Rosser (‘27) stated, “The mold never goes away… because it’s in the building, it’s been there for so long.” In regards to possible solutions, he also stated, “It is an expensive and somewhat timely process to remove mold.” As of now, there have been no acts passed to combat this problem.
There were also concerns about food conditions and the treatment of food workers on campus.
Rosser stated, “I’ve had 20 individual people come up to me and complain about health code violations.”
There have also been complaints about the cost of food and the use of student points. The Dining Hall did not respond to any inquiries made on behalf of the Student Government to these concerns.
“Just because certain portions of the student population might not have parents with good corporate health insurance plans; might be from a disadvantaged background; might be international. Why should they have to pay more? That is a little bit classist, and a little bit absurd.”
This quote from Rosser for the Health and Accessibility Committee came from a discussion about a notable act that was passed to lower the cost of student insurance for healthcare. Aimed to help low-income students, this initiative aims to lower the cost of student health insurance by at least five percent.
As stated by Rosser, “We need to make sure that Drew stays competitive and that we help people from these lower-income areas… and ensure that they have a right to actually go to college and not be in crippling debt just to have health insurance. This is somewhat of a basic human right.”
Kayla Kieran is a first-year who has not yet decided on a major.
